In short: A construction manager oversees the building of studio and drama sets. They turn the designer's drawings into safe builds, hire and organise the trades, manage the budget and schedule, and oversee the striking and recycling of the sets afterwards. Granary builds sets and quotes each custom build per production, from £600 +VAT.
A construction manager oversees the building and striking of film and TV drama sets, turning the designer's drawings into builds that are safe and on budget. They work to the production designer and art director, and they run the trades who do the physical work.
What a construction manager does on a shoot day
Before the build starts, the construction manager interprets the drawings and plans how each piece will be made. They hire the workforce and make sure each crew knows what it is doing and when. They also get materials and tools to site, and they manage the budget and the schedule.
During the build, the construction manager is the link between the artists who design and paint the set and the construction workers who make it. Health and safety is a constant part of the day, especially around machinery and work at height.
At the end of a production, the sets are dismantled, which the trade calls striking. Materials are recycled where possible or stored.
Who they work with
The construction manager works with production designers, art directors and draughtspersons, and with the trades they hire, including carpenters, painters, riggers and plasterers. Chargehand painters, chargehand plasterers and head riggers lead their own departments under them.
Kit and skills
ScreenSkills lists these skills:
- Construction knowledge, applied to the trades that build the set.
- Reading technical drawings and turning them into a build order.
- Organisation of budgets, schedules and recruitment.
- Communication and team management across artists and tradespeople.
- Health and safety, particularly for machinery and work at height.
Health and safety is not a box to tick on a build. A competent person must assess every build, every lift and every piece of work at height. This page gives general guidance only, and it does not replace that assessment.
How to become a construction manager
The usual path starts in a trade, usually carpentry, and then progresses over years of experience. ScreenSkills also lists routes through education and training:
- Trade qualifications. Level 3 vocational options include site carpentry, plastering, painting and decorating, joinery and rigging, along with the National Diploma and Extended Diploma in Construction and the Built Environment.
- Apprenticeships. Earn while you learn in carpentry, building or plastering. ScreenSkills says apprenticeships inside production companies can be hard to find, so construction apprenticeships are the practical starting point.
- Further study. For university, A-levels or Highers in art, architecture, photography, graphic design or graphic communication are useful.
- Networking. Once qualified and with a couple of years of experience, ScreenSkills suggests building contacts through its events, especially Open Doors. Production Base can help you find productions and the companies behind them.
Bectu, the union for workers in the creative industries, offers career development support to members and publishes a ratecard for construction crew.
Do you need one on a small shoot?
- A talking head or a podcast: no.
- A product or interview day on an existing cove: no build is needed, so no construction manager.
- A bespoke set, a stage or a wall that must be built to a drawing: yes, or at least a senior carpenter who can run the build to a clear plan.
- A multi-day drama with several builds and a strike at the end: yes, because the schedule, the crew and the striking all need one person in charge.
Granary has an in-house construction team, described on the set building page. Custom set builds are quoted per production, from £600 +VAT. Describe what the shot needs and ask for a quote before you commit to a design.
Related roles
Sources
- ScreenSkills, Construction manager (film and TV drama), read 5 November 2026
- Bectu, home page, read 5 November 2026
Related guides
Questions we get asked
What does a construction manager do on a film set?
A construction manager oversees the building of sets from the production designer's and art director's drawings. They plan the build, hire the trades, manage the budget and schedule, and make sure the work is safe, especially where machinery or work at height is involved.
How do you become a construction manager on a film or TV set?
Most people start in a trade, usually carpentry, and progress over years of experience. ScreenSkills notes that film apprenticeships are hard to find, so it recommends construction apprenticeships in carpentry, building or plastering to build transferable skills.
Does a small shoot need a construction manager?
Usually not. A construction manager is needed when a set has to be built from drawings, such as a bespoke room, a stage or a structure that carries weight. A talking head or a product day on an existing cove needs no build at all.
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